Wheelgun Wednesday: A WWI Bayonet For British Revolvers
The terrible trench warfare of WW1 was so brutal that it gave rise to plenty of close-quarter battle oddments, including plenty of clubs, maces, submachine guns, flamethrowers, and knives. But did you know that the British developed a bayonet for their revolvers?
Wheelgun Wednesday @ TFB:
Wheelgun Wednesday: Samson Manufacturing – Enhanced Ejector Rod Wheelgun Wednesday: Taurus 650 .357 Magnum Wheelgun Wednesday: Smith & Wesson Model 20 .357 Magnum Wheelgun Wednesday: Korth Executive Series Limited Edition Revolvers
British Captain Arthur Pritchard developed the Pritchard-Greener Bayonet in 1916. The Greener company managed to manufacture examples from modified French Gras Bayonets, which was a smart move. The metal of any kind was, as in many wars, a strategic material, so recycling/repurposing of an existing surplus bayonet design was prudent.
Though the Hellenic Army was still using the Gras, and eventually fought on the side of the Allies in WWI, as of 1916 they were not a co-belligerent and the British were not, to my knowledge, issuing Gras rifles to any home guard units, nor did the French evidently need the surplus bayonets.
The Pritchard-Greener Bayonet was carried in a leather belt frog, and though it attached to a sidearm, the handle was of adequate size to be used as a trench knife if needed. It affixed to the No. 1 Mk IV revolver, being supported on a concave section of the bayonet’s handle by the revolver barrel. The bayonet’s handle was supported at the rear by the frame of the revolver.
The ring of the bayonet sat behind the rear of the front sight, and a lever-actuated spring-loaded section of the ring allowed the user to slip the bayonet fore and aft of the front sight when fixing and unfixing the bayonet. Further relief cuts in the rear of the bayonet’s handle allowed use of the barrel catch when the bayonet was fixed, so the loading and unloading of the Webley was not impeded.
Though innovative, one has to wonder how effective a bayonet thrust with a curved revolver grip really would be. Most likely, far more effective than Laserlyte’s modern mini-bayonet for NAA .22 revolvers, but it was probably more effective as a knife than a bayonet in tight quarters, given the torsion one’s wrist would experience trying to stab someone from a one-handed revolver grip.
Though only about 200 units were produced, the Pritchard-Greener stands out as a revolver bayonet that was carried into harm’s way in WWI. If you should ever come across one in your great-grandfather’s war chest, be aware they can be quite valuable, as few were produced, and surviving examples in good condition are quite rare.